Search QuiltStory

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Okay, I don't pick favorites, but if I was forced to, this would be it! Seriously, Megan and I spent over an hour checking out Angela's flickr account trying to figure out how she did everything! Anyhow the story is really sweet too.. check out Angela's blog cut to pieces, and tell us what you think of this amazing quilt!

So, it's finally happened. Yes, the moment many of you and I have been waiting for has arrived. I got my act together and worked and worked and worked and then worked some more... and now I have a beautiful doll quilt. I started dreaming about this quilt long before I even knew that I would be part of the Doll Quilt Swap. I wasn't certain if I would get into the swap and I wasn't certain what kind of partner I would have.

Well...my partner said that I could make what I wanted to...but I'm not sure that this is what she expected! LOL. I was so happy to have the creative freedom to make the quilt that I needed to make. That's right..needed.

This quilt has a fairly obvious reference to the Wizard of Oz, but I wasn't just trying to make a story quilt. At least not that story. This quilt is about the story of my life for the last several years and my husband's and my attempts to have children.

We knew that we wanted to have children when we were dating. But thought that we might wait one or two years...I was fairly young and we wanted to enjoy our time together alone for a bit. And we did. We took lovely trips and enjoyed our very long honeymoon stage! But it became clearer and clearer that we would like to try to start a family.

But unfortunately for us, that was not a simple task. What we thought would be effortless turned into years of study, research, surgeries, a miscarriage, more surgery, fertility treatments, prayer, prayer and more prayer. All the while we saw families growing all around us.

We knew that God wanted us to have children and for me to conceive, but the years of waiting were extremely difficult as all the things that accompany being a married couple without children in a world focused on married couples with children. It became difficult to maintain hope when month after month, year after year, we still had the same struggle and felt little control.

And then it happened, on a miraculous Easter Morning I discovered that I was pregnant.

We were in a happy but cautious daze for months. I unfortunately get extremely ill when pregnant and by the end of the first trimester I had already lost 15 lbs. I couldn't get off my couch to sew!!! :( But that couldn't take away our joy.

Our baby girl was due December 21st and I was convinced she would be born on Christmas since we had found out about her on Easter. But she proved her independence early by thankfully coming early! She still was our best Christmas present though!

The hardship didn't end with her arrival for me, but we were blessed with an enormous amount of care from family and friends for months afterwards. And Caitlyn has certainly turned out to be an angel baby. Sweet in every way and thankfully allowing her parents to get a decent amount of sleep.

She is the greatest joy in our life and is truly a miracle. We tell everyone that we waited so long for her because God was working hard on making her so precious.

So this quilt is a representation of our journey. We were on the dark side with that rainbow just barely glimmering above to give us hope. But since Caitlyn joined our life, we are living in the colored side. Every day is magical, seriously. We are so blessed to have her and she has brought color and joy to our life.

When we were waiting for our precious arrival, there was a song that always made us smile. It always made us peaceful and left us happy. That song is Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's Somewhere Over The Rainbow / What A Wonderful World. I'm sure that you've heard it...movies love to use it as a finale song! Well..that is our song. My husband even had a great moment in the hospital when I was (finally!) getting some sleep and brand new Caitlyn was sleeping in my arms. He was video taping and realized that in the background was this song playing on our ipod. He couldn't have planned the moment better. It was the realization of a dream. The reminder that God fulfills his promises in ways that we can't imagine.

And so a quilt idea was born as well. "Where Bluebirds Fly" represents this journey. So many of you have asked me how I could possibly give this quilt away after all the work it took. But the reality is that I don't need this quilt because I am living it. I am in the magical world. I spend every day with this sweet girl.

Thanks Angela. The quilt is one of a kind. Whoever ends up with it is a lucky person! Your daughter is darling, congratulations! May you get many more babies and quilts!

Ok, I'm in this swap and was praying that quilt would eventually make it to my house. It didn't. lol. I've already read this post on Angela's blog, and already cried my way through it. It's still just as emotional the second time reading. Beautiful quilt, beautiful story, and beautiful baby! :)

This is truly the most special quilt I have ever seen, in its incredible skill and in the story that accompanies it. WOW!!! I am so happy that your dreams came true. My sister has been going through a similar long and painful struggle; I hope she and her husband find their rainbow as well.

What a beautiful story. How wonderful too for Caitlyn to grow up knowing how much she was prayed for and wanted. We were made to wait several years for our first and third child too but what a blessing our family has been. I still don't understand God's reasoning for it but I always knew he had a plan whether I understood it or not! I just had to learn to accept his it. This quilt is such a beautiful way to portray those feelings and the joy at the end of the rainbow.Cindy

That quilt is amazing.Thanks for stopping by my blog. Did you ever stop at my quilt shoppe (The Scrappy Appleyard) when you came through Panguitch? It was right on Main Street next to Henri's Drive-In. I just closed it this last February.I think this "Quilt Story" idea is fantastic! Thanks for letting the rest of us ride along!

Your quilt is breathtaking and as someone who's dealt with infertility I can empathize with the frustrating experience it is but we too were lucky and our 21 year old beautiful daughter is a product of love and patience.